Press Release

Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) today released a compilation of the latest statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigations that show a lower murder rate in cities along the Texas-Mexico border than in other major cities across the nation and the State of Texas. The FBI crime rates also show that the number of robberies, assaults, and rapes are significantly lower in border cities than the major metropolitan cities in Texas.

“Many people characterize the southern border as being unsafe but today’s numbers paint a very different picture,” said Congressman Cuellar. “These statistics clearly show that some of the safest cities in the United States are on the U.S.-Mexico border. The murder rate is actually higher in Washington, D.C. where I work than in my hometown of Laredo, Texas or other cities on the border like McAllen, Texas. These statistics should help to dispel some of the misinformation about the border region that hurts our local economy and makes it harder to hire doctors and encourage investment.”

Some of the key takeaways from the latest FBI crime statistics include:

· The top ten cities with the highest murder rate do not include a single city on the US-Mexico border

· The murder rates in Washington, DC, Dallas, and Houston are more than six times the murder rates in McAllen, Laredo, and Brownsville, respectively

· In 2013, there were 214 murders in Houston and 143 in Dallas, compared to three murders in Laredo and two in McAllen

Attached to this release are the following seven charts: 2013 Murder Rates in Borders Cities Compared to US Cities, 2013 Top 10 Cities in the US with Highest Murder Rate, 2013 Top 10 Cities in the US with Highest Murders, 2013 TX Cities Total Aggravated Assaults, 2013 TX Cities Total Murders, 2013 TX Total Rapes, and 2013 TX Cities Total Robberies.